{"id":77031,"date":"2025-08-19T05:17:07","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T05:17:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/77031\/"},"modified":"2025-08-19T05:17:07","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T05:17:07","slug":"ukraine-live-updates-trump-and-european-leaders-press-putin-to-agree-to-zelenskyy-meeting-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/77031\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine live updates: Trump and European leaders press Putin to agree to Zelenskyy meeting | Ukraine"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Key events<\/p>\n<p>Show key events only<\/p>\n<p>Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The leaders of five European countries as well as the European Commission and Nato joined Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the summit with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/donaldtrump\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Donald Trump<\/a> after the US president\u2019s talks with Vladimir Putin in Alaska last Friday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">A selection of images from Monday\u2019s White House summit have been been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/gallery\/2025\/aug\/18\/european-leaders-gather-for-ukraine-peace-talks-at-the-white-house-in-pictures\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">curated here<\/a> and include these:<\/p>\n<p>A photo opportunity for the gathered leaders: (from left) the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, Keir Starmer, Alexander Stubb, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Donald Trump, Emmanuel Macron, Giorgia Meloni, Friedrich Merz and Mark Rutte Photograph: Alexander Drago\/ReutersTrump shows Zelenskyy a portrait of his predecessor Abraham Lincoln. Photograph: Alexander Drago\/ReutersNato secretary general Mark Rutte, UK prime minister Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron converse with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, watched by senior members of the Trump administration. Photograph: Alex Brandon\/APStarmer and Macron confer under the gaze of senior Trump officials: defence secretary Pete Hegseth, Treasury secretary Scott Bessent, secretary of state Marco Rubio and vice-president JD Vance. Photograph: Alexander Drago\/ReutersZelenskyy speaks with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen outside the Ukrainian embassy in Washington DC before their visit to the White House. Photograph: Planetpix\/Alamy<a href=\"mailto:?subject=Ukraine live updates: Trump and European leaders press Putin to agree to Zelenskyy meeting&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/live\/2025\/aug\/19\/ukraine-live-updates-trump-zelenskyy-putin-meeting-europe-latest-news?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-68a4024c8f0839af25d76d8f#block-68a4024c8f0839af25d76d8f\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Updated at\u00a001.12 EDT<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">If there was a sign that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/volodymyr-zelenskiy\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Volodymyr Zelenskyy<\/a> wasn\u2019t going to be immediately voted off the island of the Donald Trump diplomacy show, it came early on when a familiar voice commended his choice of attire, writes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/profile\/roth-andrew\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Andrew Roth<\/a> in his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/aug\/18\/trump-zelenskyy-meeting-ukraine-russia-peace\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">sketch of how the White House meeting unfolded<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPresident Zelenskyy, you look fabulous in that suit,\u201d said Brian Glenn, a pro-Trump pundit and member of the White House press corps, who had attacked him for wearing military fatigues <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/feb\/28\/trump-zelenskyy-meeting-transcript\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">during the infamous Oval Office meeting in February<\/a>. \u201cI said the same thing,\u201d Trump added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou are in the same suit,\u201d Zelenskyy shot back, earning smiles and laughter from the room including the US president. \u201cI changed, you did not.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thus did Zelenskyy survive his first media appearance at the White House with Trump on Monday as the US president focused less on belittling the leader of a wartime ally than boasting \u2013 and in many cases exaggerating \u2013 his exploits as a peacemaker in world conflicts.<\/p>\n<p>Zelenskyy and Trump in the Oval Office on Monday.  Photograph: Mandel Ngan\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">You can read all of Roth\u2019s piece here:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Ukraine live updates: Trump and European leaders press Putin to agree to Zelenskyy meeting&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/live\/2025\/aug\/19\/ukraine-live-updates-trump-zelenskyy-putin-meeting-europe-latest-news?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-68a3ff358f086d858217e253#block-68a3ff358f086d858217e253\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Updated at\u00a000.44 EDT<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy both said they hoped Monday\u2019s gathering would eventually lead to three-way talks with Vladimir Putin, whose forces have been slowly grinding forward in eastern Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">In a social media post late on Monday, Trump said he had called the Russian leader and begun arranging a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy, to be followed by a trilateral summit among the three presidents.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Trump told European leaders that Putin suggested that sequence, Reuters cites a source in the European delegation as saying.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The Kremlin has not publicly announced its agreement, but a senior Trump administration official said the Putin-Zelenskyy meeting could take place in Hungary.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The pair will meet within the next two weeks, according to German chancellor Friedrich Merz.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The last direct talks between Russia and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/ukraine\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Ukraine<\/a> took place in Turkey in June. Putin declined Zelenskyy\u2019s public invitation to meet him face-to-face there and instead sent a low-level delegation.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Ukraine live updates: Trump and European leaders press Putin to agree to Zelenskyy meeting&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/live\/2025\/aug\/19\/ukraine-live-updates-trump-zelenskyy-putin-meeting-europe-latest-news?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-68a3fc8f8f0839af25d76d6f#block-68a3fc8f8f0839af25d76d6f\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Volodymyr Zelenskyy said after his Washington meeting with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/donaldtrump\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Donald Trump<\/a> and European leaders that security guarantees for Ukraine would likely be worked out within 10 days, adding that they would include the purchase for Ukraine of a package of US weapons.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cThere indeed is a package with our proposals worth $90bn,\u201d the Ukrainian president said. \u201cAnd we have agreements with the US president that when our export opens, they will buy Ukrainian drones. This is important for us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">As <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/profile\/warrenmurray\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Warren Murray<\/a> writes in our latest Ukraine war briefing, reports earlier suggested that Ukraine would promise to buy $100bn of US weapons financed by Europe \u2013 lucrative for US suppliers \u2013 as part of a deal to get guarantees from the US for its security if there is a peace settlement with Russia.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/8dad9c67-59da-4f38-b43a-3d6ba5f1df57\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Financial Times<\/a> added that Ukraine and the US would also strike a $50bn deal to produce drones with Ukrainian companies. The drone news may partly repeat recent similar announcements.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">You can read the full briefing here:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Ukraine live updates: Trump and European leaders press Putin to agree to Zelenskyy meeting&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/live\/2025\/aug\/19\/ukraine-live-updates-trump-zelenskyy-putin-meeting-europe-latest-news?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-68a3fab08f086d858217e23c#block-68a3fab08f086d858217e23c\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Updated at\u00a000.22 EDT<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">British prime minister Keir Starmer has described the talks at the White House as \u201cgood and constructive\u201d and said they produced \u201creal progress\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Speaking after the summit, Starmer said: \u201cThere was a real sense of unity between the European leaders that were there and President Trump and President Zelenskyy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Starmer highlighted \u201ctwo material outcomes\u201d from the talks \u2013 first, that the coalition of the willing \u201cwill now work with the US\u201d on security guarantees.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cThat\u2019s really important for security in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/ukraine\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Ukraine<\/a>, for security in Europe, and for security in the UK,\u201d the prime minister said.<\/p>\n<p>Keir Starmer during the leaders\u2019 meeting at the White House.  Photograph: Shutterstock<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Starmer continued:<\/p>\n<p>The other material outcome was the agreement that there will now be a bilateral agreement between President Putin and President Zelenskyy, that was after a phone call between President Trump and President Putin during the course of this afternoon, followed by a trilateral that will add in Trump.<\/p>\n<p>That is a recognition of the principle that on some of these issues, whether it\u2019s territory or the exchange of prisoners, or the very serious issue of the return of children, that is something where Ukraine must be at the table.<\/p>\n<p>These were the two outcomes that were the most important coming out of today. They\u2019re positive outcomes, there was a real sense of unity. We\u2019ve made real progress today.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Ukraine live updates: Trump and European leaders press Putin to agree to Zelenskyy meeting&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/live\/2025\/aug\/19\/ukraine-live-updates-trump-zelenskyy-putin-meeting-europe-latest-news?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-68a3f5258f0865c03d279156#block-68a3f5258f0865c03d279156\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Updated at\u00a000.03 EDT<\/p>\n<p>Opening summary<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Welcome to our live coverage of the latest diplomatic efforts to find an end to the war in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/ukraine\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Ukraine<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Vladimir Putin has agreed to face-to-face talks with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/donaldtrump\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Donald Trump<\/a> and European leaders, although the Kremlin has yet to confirm a meeting will take place.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">After talks at the White House with the leaders of Germany, Britain, France, Italy, Finland, the European Union and Nato, the US president said he would coordinate security guarantees for Ukraine in the event of a deal and claimed that arrangements were under way for a Zelenskyy-Putin meeting. He said a trilateral meeting would happen between the two, along with Trump, after that.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Finnish president Alexander Stubb said the main agreement from the White House meeting was that the killing had to end and that it remained to be seen if Putin had the courage to meet Zelenskyy. \u201cPutin is rarely to be trusted,\u201d Stubb said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The Russian president has previously resisted a one-on-one meeting with Zelenskyy. Ukraine\u2019s president said it was ready to meet with Russia in \u201cany format\u201d and that territorial issues are \u201csomething we will leave between me and Putin\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Here are some of the latest developments:<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">German chancellor Friedrich Merz said Putin told Trump in a call during the White House meeting that he was ready to meet<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/volodymyr-zelenskiy\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> Zelenskyy<\/a> \u201cwithin the next two weeks\u201d. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Putin and Trump only discussed the \u201cidea\u201d of direct Russia-Ukraine talks in Monday\u2019s phone call.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Trump told Zelenskyy the US would help guarantee Ukraine\u2019s security in any deal to end the war, though the extent of any assistance was not immediately clear. \u201cI believe this is a major step forward,\u201d Zelenskyy said, also saying security guarantees for Ukraine would probably be worked out within 10 days.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The US president ruled out a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war during a meeting with Zelenskyy and European leaders at the White House, despite last week warning Moscow of \u201cvery severe consequences\u201d if Vladimir Putin didn\u2019t agree to halt the fighting. Trump said while sitting with the leaders on Monday: \u201cAll of us would obviously prefer an immediate ceasefire while we work on a lasting peace. Maybe something like that could happen. As of this moment, it\u2019s not happening.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Trump described his meeting with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/volodymyr-zelenskiy\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Zelenskyy<\/a> and the leaders of Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Finland, the European Union and Nato as \u201ca very good, early step for a war that has been going on for almost four years\u201d. He also said on social media that vice-president JD Vance, secretary of state Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff were \u201ccoordinating with Russia and Ukraine\u201d. \u201cEveryone is very happy about the possibility of peace for Russia\/Ukraine,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">French president Emmanuel Macron called for stepping up sanctions against Russia if Putin does not move forward on peace with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/ukraine\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Ukraine<\/a>. Merz said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/ukraine\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Ukraine<\/a> should not be forced to surrender its Donbas region to Russia in talks, likening it to the US giving up Florida.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Trump, however, seemed clearly swayed by Putin from their talks in Alaska last Friday and echoed the Russian president\u2019s talking points, saying several times on Monday that ending the war was \u201cup to\u201d both Zelenskyy and Putin \u2013 rather than just Putin, who invaded Ukraine. Trump also said: \u201cWe also need to discuss the possible exchanges of territory, taking into consideration the current line of contact \u2013 that means the war zone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Ukraine will promise to buy $90bn of US weapons financed by Europe as part of a deal to get guarantees from the US for its security if there is a peace settlement with Russia, Zelenskyy said. \u201cThere indeed is a package with our proposals worth $90bn,\u201d the Ukrainian president said. \u201cAnd we have agreements with the US president that when our export opens, they will buy Ukrainian drones. This is important for us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">In stark contrast to the heated exchange during Zelenskyy\u2019s first trip to Trump\u2019s White House in February, the Ukrainian president\u2019s charm offensive this time around looked to pay off, allowing him to emerge unscathed. Zelenskyy \u2013 who wore a black military-style suit and presented a letter from his wife, Olena Zelenska, for Melania Trump in response to her letter to Putin \u2013 said this meeting with Trump was his \u201cbest\u201d so far.<\/p>\n<p>Donald Trump greets Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington.  Photograph: Bryan Dozier\/NurPhoto\/Shutterstock<a href=\"mailto:?subject=Ukraine live updates: Trump and European leaders press Putin to agree to Zelenskyy meeting&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/live\/2025\/aug\/19\/ukraine-live-updates-trump-zelenskyy-putin-meeting-europe-latest-news?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-68a3dce18f086d858217e1b4#block-68a3dce18f086d858217e1b4\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Updated at\u00a000.46 EDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature The leaders of five&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":77032,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[49,50,51,47,52,48],"class_list":["post-77031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77031","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77031"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77031\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}